Firefighting Goats (and other Livestock Too!)
From 1997 to 2003, Kathy Voth directed a research project using goats to create firebreaks to protect homes and firefighters from wildland fires. These excerpts from the federal Joint Fire Science Program’s “Fire Science Brief” on her project describes the project and its findings. Thanks to Rachel Clark for putting this brief together! Learn what goats can accomplish and why other livestock are good firefighters too!
Goats at work in oakbrush. Photo by Sean Hammond
Fire prevention in the WUI (Wildland Urban Interfac
- Published: 8 years ago on September 16, 2013
- By: Kathy Voth
- Last Modified: September 16, 2013 @ 5:06 pm
- Filed Under: Goats, Livestock
- Tagged With: Firefighting, Prescribed grazing
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Kathy,
Your story is telling. The tool of prescribed grazing for wildfire risk reduction has proven effective in dozens of anecdotal instances. BUT, the resistance to a programmatic approach to reduce fuel loads continues.
I worked in this area from 2000 thru 2006, partly due to the groundbreaking work of you and others.
Today, pretty much everyone is out of that business, except for a few urban weedeaters who can get “cute” value media and some high dollars for a very short period of time.
Right now, there aren’t enough goats to keep California, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona, etc., from regularly burning up — buy there could be.
What are your thoughts on building a consortium of producers/service providers to approach this issue from a programmatic landscape scale to get ahead of the wildfire spiral, especially in light of climate change.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to spout. What you are doing with this newsletter is awesome.
Jeff Rola
541.410.6707